Research advances regarding fungal biofilms and related ocular diseases

Clinical studies on refractory fungal infections have revealed that fungal pathogens in infected lesions often existed in the form of biofilms.A biofilm is a complex of microbial communities enclosed in an extracellular matrix.Biofilm formation helps the fungus evade host cellular immune system clearance and the attacks of drugs, causing persistent infections and then threatening human health.In recent years, research has shown that biofilms can form on the surfaces of intraocular lenses, corneal contact lenses, scleral buckles and other intraocular implants.Moreover, growing evidence shows that fungal biofilms play an important role in ocular infectious diseases, such as endophthalmits and keratitis.Therefore, the study of fungal biofilms and their correlations with ocular diseases is of considerable clinical significance.In this study, we focused on the formation and structure of fungal biofilms, the factors influencing biofilms formation, resistance mechanism, treatment strategies and the association of biofilms in ocular disease.